Emporia State’s commencements will be live-streamed on the Internet tomorrow, Saturday, December 14, 2014; undergraduates gather at W.A. White Auditorium at 9:30am and graduate students gather at Albert Taylor Hall at 2:00pm.

Congratulations to the 2013 Presidential Award for Leadership in Diversity; individual award to Marla Darby with the Teachers College and new organizational award to Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

The Trusler Foundation recently awarded $125,000 to Emporia State University; $100,000 match for the Dale & Carolyn Davis gift in honor of Professor John Rich in the School of Business and $25,000 for facility improvements supporting ESU Athletics at the Trusler Sports Complex.

The annual Red Stocking Breakfast hosted at Emporia’s Pizza Ranch raised over $12,800 for the Kansas Children’s Service League; Karen and Michael Shonrock served as Honorary Chairs.

The Alumni Association’s START/TAP Program (Students through Alumni Recruitment Teams and Teacher Appreciation Program) served lunch to over 1,200 teachers from 15 different schools in the South Central and Kansas City regions.

School of Library and Information Management’s Dr. Andrew Smith was the featured speaker at the Wichita Area Library Association’s annual Legislative Luncheon for the Wichita Area Library Association.

Many members of the Hornet Nation staff are volunteers to our local community; such as Ray Lambert (Welding Shop) with the Neosho Rapids Fire Department, Nane Weaver (HVAC Shop) serving as a Boy Scout Troop leader, Gilbert Rodriguez (Paint Shop) coordinating the Festival of Trees, James McKenzie (Building Services) with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Rich Jensen (Facilities) with mission work to Central America.

More than 1,000 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members have contributed the SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) associated with the new Strategic Plan; the analysis will assist with framing continued discussions regarding mission and vision statements along with strategic goals (and BIG IDEAS) for Emporia State.

During the Spring semester 2014, the School of Library and Information Management (SLIM) will be the first to begin utilizing CANVAS learning management system (replacing Blackboard). All colleges/schools will begin using CANVAS in the Summer 2014.

Recently, Emporia State was ranked 27th among Midwest Region universities and a Best College for Veterans by U.S. News & World Report.

27 also represents the number of ESU undergraduate and graduate students recently recognized at the Sauder Alumni Center as recipients of the Capitol Federal Scholarships; Capitol Federal doubled their annual scholarships from $40,000 to $80,000 this year!

Emporia State University is a dynamic and progressive student-centered learning community that fosters student success through engagement in academic excellence, community and global involvement, and the pursuit of personal and professional fulfillment.